A re-elected Liberal Government will spend an additional $8 million to help parents hammer home to young people the life-long negative consequences of taking methamphetamine.

Mental Health Minister, Andrea Mitchell said the funding was part of the Liberals $190 million comprehensive plan to fight meth.

“The additional $8 million over four years is for drug education in schools and the wider community to raise the awareness of the harms of meth and other drugs,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Almost without exception, every parent of a teenager I meet tells me their greatest fear, no matter how well-adjusted their child, is that they could become involved in drugs, especially meth. Our experience over the past eight years in Government is that these campaigns are effective at discouraging the uptake of drugs.”

Ms Mitchell said the other message she had consistently received was that people did not know where to turn for help if their child or loved one was taking meth.

“That is why the Liberal Government introduced the Meth Helpline, which has in six months of operation dealt with more than 2,800 calls from people wanting help. A Liberal Government will not abandon these people. A re-elected Liberal Government will continue to fund the Meth Helpline and the advertising that raises awareness of the helpline.

“I am extremely concerned Labor will scrap this vital advertising and the Meth Helpline if they are elected.

“The Opposition’s so called debt strategy of slashing government advertising puts at risk this essential health campaign.

“Now is not the time to cut back on getting the message out about the dangers of meth. This would play right into the hands of meth dealers.”

Ms Mitchell said Labor had also not committed funding for an involuntary rehabilitation facility and did not support mandatory minimum jail terms for meth dealers and traffickers.

For more comprehensive reading on the Liberals’ plan to fight meth click here